Hip Hop Get Down in C-Town

Corvallis seems to be stepping up its live music game lately. As someone who grew up in Philomath — think Corvallis’ Springfield — we got used to driving to Portland or Eugene to see anyone touring nationally. But now the Majestic Theatre has shifted some focus to live music: the Whiteside Theatre hosted the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies last month and on Oct. 26, Dagger Entertainment presents (take a deep breath) Fright Night featuring Big K.R.I.T., Blue Scholars, Timeflies, 9th Wonder and Rapsody. That’s more hip hop in one night than C-town usually gets all year.

Headlining the night is southern rapper Big K.R.I.T. (standing for Kings Remembered in Time). K.R.I.T., who came on the scene with rappers like Curren$y, Yelawolf and Wiz Khalifa, hails from Mississippi and rarely lets you forget it — loading his rhymes with allusions to the South, riding the post-crunk, proud-to-be-Southern wave that’s dominated hip hop for about 10 years. And I can imagine a place (and I say this with affection, old-hometown), known to some as Cow-vallis, getting down to K.R.I.T.’s ode to rural livin’ “Country Shit.”

Eugene crowds, like music-lovers all over the Northwest, are no strangers to Blue Scholars’ indie hip hop. The Seattle group eschews rap’s usual subjects (fame, fortune, male genitalia) for social commentary and the Filipino and Hawaiian heritage of MC Geologic. Founding members got together while studying at University of Washington when, as described in “Bayani” from the album of the same name, “two students skipped a class, went and crafted an album.”

About the Author

William Kennedy is a freelance writer, professional pop-culture nerd, and bookseller at the U of O Bookstore. He lives in Eugene with his wife and daughter who politely accommodate his obsession with Doctor Who. His work can be read in the Eugene Weekly, Willamette Week, Oregon Music News and Eugene Magazine.